Transporting horses causes significant physiological and psychological stress. Journey duration, vehicle design, social grouping, and driver behaviour all critically affect horse welfare during transport.
Horse transport imposes acute welfare costs through confinement, balance effort, vibration, and social disruption. The physiological effects are well-documented and begin within the first hour of transport. Long-distance transport, including international trade in sport and slaughter horses, extends these welfare impacts over days in some cases. Regulatory standards for journey time, vehicle quality, and rest provision provide a floor but are frequently inadequate relative to the evidence for welfare harm. Minimising transport duration, using familiar social groupings, and ensuring vehicle quality are the most important practical welfare measures available to horse owners and shippers.